Digest

'Fantasy Island' Actor Arrested in Burbank

Actor Herve Villechaize, former co-star of the television program "Fantasy Island," was arrested in Burbank Wednesday on suspicion of possessing or receiving stolen property after police found a pistol in his handbag.

Burbank police were summoned to St. Joseph Medical Center around 2:45 a.m. after Villechaize, 41, walked into the hospital and began acting "disruptively," Lt. Duane Dow said.

The officers smelled alcohol on Villechaize's breath and observed the gun after the 3-foot, 11-inch actor removed his identification from the handbag, Dow said.

The officers confiscated the loaded .38-caliber revolver and checked its serial number with a police computer, which listed the gun as stolen from Georgia, Dow said.

Villechaize spent about six hours in City Jail and was released on $1,000 bail, police said. An arraignment has been scheduled for May 29 in Burbank Municipal Court, Dow said.

Villechaize, in an interview with UPI, denied the allegations and said he was carrying the gun because he had received death threats.

"A midget with a gun is very bad press," he said. "I don't like for people to carry guns, but there should be permits issued in some cases. I can't afford a 24-hour bodyguard."